Transformers Animated is the property of Hasbro, Cartoon Network, and Takara-Tomy. No copyright infringement is meant by this fictional work.

The original characters and events presented in this story are my creation and mine alone, aside from those based off of elements based on the existing Transformers canon.

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The Great War - Cybertron

Springer stood quietly, his expression masking the smoldering rage he was barely managing to contain within him. In front of him stood Master Yoketron, who seemed to be studying him wordlessly with his arms folded behind his back. It felt like the old mech's optics were seeing right into his spark, and thanks to Springer's anger, it was more than a bit disturbing for the former pupil.

After several long moments, the Cyber-Ninja master finally spoke.

"Springer," Yoketron began. "You have long since completed your optics quest. You are recognized and honored as both a proud Autobot warrior, and as an elite member of this prestigious order. You have all but mastered processor-over-matter. And yet, despite accomplishing all of this, you stand before me today... dishonored."

Springer felt like firing back and delivering a snappy, indignant retort to his master. But he held back and remained quiet, knowing full well the consequences of doing so.

Yoketron continued. "You have been found derelict of duty. You ignored the orders of a superior officer, and in doing so, you allowed a wanted fugitive to not only escape justice, he succeeded in stealing a number of newly molded protoforms!"

That Springer could not ignore. "You don't understand!" the green Autobot shouted. "If I'd have gone after him like I was ordered, we would have lost more than a handful of protoforms! Half of Altihex would have gone up in smoke thanks to that reactor he sabotaged!"

While Springer's face was full of desperation and anger, his sensei's expression retained its cold fury. "You forget yourself, Springer. For a Cyber-Ninja, there is no greater duty than ensuring Cybertron's future. Springer, you-"

"That's a load of scrap, master!" snapped Springer. "I'm supposed to be defending Cybertron's future, but how exactly am I doing that when I'm putting the sparks of countless civilians ahead of sparkless blanks?!"

Despite his student's outburst, Yoketron remained quiet, and calmly turned his back on Springer. "It has already been decided," he said, his voice low. "Ultra Magnus and I both agree that you will no longer serve as an active member of the Cyber-Ninja Corps, and that you will be reassigned."

Springer's optics widened, and he clenched his teeth. "'Reassigned?!' What do you mean?! Where are you putting me?!"

"In my unit."

At the sound of a new voice, Springer spun around, and saw a tall, stout, purple and yellow-colored mechanoid. There was some kind of launcher mounted on his shoulder, and rather than a standard set of servos, his left arm ended in a harpoon

"Springer, this is Impactor," said Yoketron, who turned back around. Springer glanced back at his sensei, seeing that he was now grinning. The old master continued, saying "From here on, you will serve as a member of the Wreckers... as part of your 'punishment.'"

The younger ninja blinked, and slowly realization dawned on him. He grinned, and then straightened up, bowing his head to the older mech. "Very well, Yoketron-sensei. I will serve out my punishment with grace and humility!"

At this point, Impactor laughed uproariously. The leader of the Wreckers strode forward, clapping his new subordinate on the back. "First thing's first, green horn! You're going to have to be a lot less formal now that you're working for me! We 'Wreckers' don't have a high enough survival rate to stand on ceremony, after all!"

Springer laughed nervously. Impactor was a well known commander, and his outfit, these so-called "Wreckers", were as infamous for taking casualties as they were for causing large amounts of destruction. Despite being smaller and weaker than most Decepticons, his rag tag group of soldiers managed to instill fear even in the sparks of Megatron's Heavy Brigade.

"Very well Impactor, sir," he replied with a nervous laugh. "So, what's our first mission...?"

Impactor's grin grew even wider. "Oh, you're love this one, kid. We're going after that lunatic who slipped through your servos! Autobot command doesn't want the former head of the Science Ministry Flame to end up selling secrets to the enemy! Who knows - we may even get those protoforms he stole back!"

Upon hearing that, the corners of Springer's mouth curled up into an eager grin. "Oh really?" he replied. "I think I'll look forward to that..."

"Atta' boy!" bellowed Impactor. "Now... I'm gonna introduce you to the 'bots that are gonna be helpin' us on our mission! They were all worked on by Flame before he scampered off like a scared petro-rabbit! Seems like everyone wants a piece of 'em... come on in boys!"

Springer raised an optic, but before he could inquire further, the doors to the dojo opened and six mechanoids filed in. The sight of them made Springer's jaw drop! They were huge - not Decepticon huge, but larger than the average Autobot - except for one, Springer noticed, a small tan mech with bright, wide optics. What was more, they were all outfitted with military-grade ranged weapons rather than the usual gadgets and melee-weapons that Autobots were normally equipped with. Despite all of this, each and every one of them wore the familiar "Auto-brand" on their chassis.

Springer flinched, clenching his optics shut as he tried to put old memories out of his mind. He needed to focus on the here and now, not on matters that were long since resolved.

Then again, Springer thought to himself, the Wreckers' past with the arms dealer called Swindle couldn't exactly be ignored. Not at a time like this.

Unfortunately, there was no time to dwell on it further. Stepping off of the lift, Springer entered the corridor leading to the brig with Ironfist following close behind. There, just outside the brig, they found two of their fellow Wreckers, a cyclopic blue-colored 'bot, and a orange, black, and white-colored mech whose body was a mess of treads, drills, and wheels; an assortment of vehicle mode components that normally did not go together.

"Hello there, Sarge, Whirl!" chirped Ironfist, addressing both of them. "Our 'guest' is safely holed up in the brig, yes?"

"That's 'Sargent Sandstorm' to you!" said the orange bot, in a tough-as-titanium sounding voice that almost seemed to approach parody. "And yeah, he is... though if you ask me, we outta' just toss that traitorous little turncoat into the hole, see how long it takes before he's sweatin' petroleum and beggin' for mercy!"

Whirl, the cyclops, rolled his solitary eye. "I'd sooner put that scrap-heap out of our misery," he hissed in his low voice, spinning the fan built into his chest whilst clenching his blade-like clawed servos. "He's certainly got it coming..."

"Ohhh, good idea!" cackled Sandstorm, whose faceplate suddenly spun around inside his helmet, replacing his previous visage with one with a visor, large chin and an ever-present smirk that showed off a set of well-polished teeth. "Let's toss him to Roadbuster! That'd be a really great show! Kaboom! BAM! Yahahahaha!"

"We aren't going to do anything until after I talk to him," stared Springer, who tried to sound stern and commanding. Sandstorm's face spun around again, this time settling on one that looked like young, fresh-faced new metal, straight off the assembly line. Whirl, meanwhile, glared at Springer, his single optic managing to give the impression of annoyance without the aid of additional facial structure.

Springer quirked a brow, and put his hands on his hips. "You got something you want to say to me, Whirl?" he asked the other Wrecker.

Whirl's claws clenched again. "We came here to avoid getting sucked into the outer rim disputes, remember? And now, Megatron's favorite weapons peddler is on board our ship," said Whirl. "Do you really want to get sucked into another one of his mind games?"

Springer grimaced, and poked Whirl firmly in the fan blade. "That's funny, Whirl. Because you're the one who suggested we come to Pz-Zazz in the first place. The Elite Guard may stay clear of this place, but no one comes to Pz-Zazz to avoid trouble"

Whirl's optic widened and then glowered, though the blue Autobot said no more. Springer grunted and then looked over at the Wreckers' youngest member. "Ironfist, I want you to go check on Roadbuster," he said. "I'm worried about him. Make sure he's not tearing the shooting gallery apart."

"Aye aye," said Ironfist, with the usual amount of cheerfulness. He practically skipped off to his appointed task whilst Springer entered the brig, leaving Sandstorm and Whirl alone again.

"Gaw-lee," said Sandstorm, with a naive enough sounding voice to match his fresh-faced current appearance.. "Things sure are gettin' serious around here!"

Whirl scoffed and glared at his team-mate. "You know, Sandstorm, for a complicated guy, you sure do have a bad habit of stating the obvious."

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"You really should have turned the lights down."

Those words were Springer's greeting as he entered the brig, finding Swindle reclining in his seat behind a security force-field. "Seriously," said the Decepticon, "it would really help set the tone here. Make things more I don't know... dramatic!"

Despite his imprisonment, Swindle seemed to still be rather confident. Just like back then, Springer thought to himself.

"With the lights turned up this bright, you can't hide any surprises from me Swindle," replied Springer with a grin. Meet confidence with confidence, or at least, the appearance of it, the old lesson resounding in his mind; one he had learned from Impactor, not Yoketron. "You do have a habit of pulling dangerous things out of that little stomach compartment of yours." Both mechs laughed at that in a way that, were they anyone else, might make one think that the two of them were old friends.

"Look, Springer," said Swindle, as he put both servos on his knees. "I'll forgo the usual runaround and get straight to the point: I need you guys to protect me."

Springer quirked a brow. It was rare that Swindle was up front about something. He usually tried to play games with people. But this time, he wasn't even bartering. What's more, it was almost spoken like a plea for help. "... Do you now?" replied Springer, as he tried not to show his surprise. "Why do you think we'd do something like that?"

"... Aren't we the same?" replied Swindle, as he held up his hands. "You, me... we're both on the run from what we used to be, aren't we?"

Springer's expression hardened. "What have you heard?"

Swindle sat back and smirked. "Oh come on, you're seriously going to act like what happened to you guys is a secret? You were the one unit to rival the reputation of the Elite Guard for spark's sake! You think someone like me wouldn't know that you'd gone AWOL?"

Springer didn't even flinch. "You've been keeping tabs on us," he said.

"Well, you are old friends," laughed Swindle. "Speaking of which, I saw Sandstorm on the way in. Where's Roadbuster? I thought that three of us could have a reunion of sorts."

At this, Springer laughed darkly. "Swindle, believe me. The last 'bot you want to see right now is Roadbuster..."

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Ironfist was met by the sound of heavy gunfire as he stepped out of the lift and into the ship's shooting gallery. Normally hearing such noises wouldn't be particularly surprising, but the sound of his comrade's near constant weapons fire told him that Roadbuster was doing more than simple practicing. Ironfist walked past the various target settings, which all had weapons mounts for the other Wreckers to wield. Roadbuster's was different, however... his was designed specifically for his enormous size and the fact that he didn't need a weapon provided for him, due to the fact that he had a great number of them already built in.

The Autobot way favored the integration of tools and special abilities, Ironfist reminded himself. Ranged weapons and the programming to wield them are considered profane... like the Decepticons...

The massive green and orange Autobot stopped firing as Ironfist walked up behind him. Ironfist looked past him, and saw that the wall his targets had been mounted on was now riddled with ballistic holes and blast burns. Then he looked back at Roadbuster himself, and took note of his body frame, which was of the same mold as the current Magnus, save for the integrated weapons. Each time he and Roadbuster were alone together, Ironfist found himself studying the bigger 'bot anew, as if his very existence were something to analyze and attempt to understand.

This was not simply because of his unique construction. Rather, it was the fact that someone had brought these elements together in the first place, despite the so-called "Autobot way."

Then Roadbuster spoke. "Comrade: Ironfist. Welcome." he said, in a droning monotone.

Ironfist felt his spark sink. He had grown used to Roadbuster's unique way of speaking, but hearing him today on top of everything made him feel bad for the other robot. "Um," said Ironfist, "you about heard who was recently aboard aboard, correct?"

"Affirmative." Roadbuster's optics showed no emotion.

Ironfist nodded slowly. "Springer and I just wanted to make sure you were alright-" he began to say.

"Assessment: My operational status is optimal. This has not changed since Swindle came aboard. Tell Springer that he does not need to worry."

Ironfist was a bit shaken by Roadbuster's sudden interruption, but he nodded anyway. "Alright," he paused. "Just give us a ring if you need anything..."

As Ironfist turned to do just that, he heard Roadbuster shifting position behind him. Ironfist turned back around, and found Roadbuster looming over him, the mechanoid's green optics staring down at him.

"Comrade: Ironfist... I wish to submit a query," he said, with just a hint of something other than monotone.

Ironfist had a feeling he knew what Roadbuster was going to ask him. "Um, go ahead," he responded.

Roadbuster paused before he asked his question. After a few short moments, though, he spoke. "Query:" he began, followed by a brief pause. "Will we do to Swindle, what the Autobot Council did to me? Will his programming be judged corrupted, and his personality subroutines disabled?"

Ironfist was unable to answer, despite his earlier inkling. He looked away from Roadbuster and hung his head. "That's not really for us to decide, now is it?" he said, unable to look the larger Autobot in the eye.

"Statement: We have the ability. The Wreckers have taken justice into their own hands before. Impactor Major-"

"You know how Springer feels about that," Ironfist interrupted.

There was another pause. Finally, though, Roadbuster turned to look back at his now non-existent targets. "Response: Very well. I will follow Springer's orders, as I once followed the orders of the Council."

Ironfist stood there for several more cycles before finally heading back to the lift. He shut his optics and shook his head. He had not been a Wrecker nearly as long as the others, but he knew more about them than most. They all wore the scars of war and with Swindle aboard their ship, old wounds were being reopened.

In Roadbuster's case, some of them had more wounds to reopen than others.

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"So let's see where we are," said Swindle, looking coy as he and Springer continued their conversation. "I'm a wanted fugitive from... well, pretty much this entire planet's underworld, you Wreckers are AWOL and trying to avoid getting caught by your old war buddies now that they're patrolling the outer rim, and... well, right now I'm your prisoner."

"You're wanted by the Autobot Commonwealth," replied Springer. "Unlike most 'bots, I know where you came from Swindle. Did that Elite Guard unit that captured even know who they were really holding?"

"Please," said Swindle. "You honestly think that the Autobot Council would broadcast the fact that somebody like me exists? Handing Perceptor's predecessor alone was a PR nightmare... but then, I'm sure Ultra Magnus like to put me, Roadbuster, and Sandstorm out of his misery if he weren't half-scrapped right now."

Springer made a face at this.

The look on Swindle's own face grew more and more insidious. "Here are the simple facts, Springer my boy. You and me? We're the same. The Autobots made me and Roadbuster in the Decepticons' image, and they succeeded - quite remarkably, I might add! Furthermore, your pal, Sandstorm? He's the first triple-changer... and therefore the reason why Megatron has freaks like that three-headed psycho Blitzwing at his disposal. And then there's you..."

A dark grin spread across Swindle's face. "You aided and abetted a war criminal," he said, his voice sounding darker and more manipulative than its usual enthusiastic, showbot-like pitch. "Your leader, Impactor Major, was sooooo desperate to stop our creators' secrets from falling into Decepticon hands, he turned an innocent planet into a war zone. In response, the Autobots let the Decepticons destroy your ship, so you'd all be remembered as heroes instead of disgraces to the Autobot name."

Springer was barely restraining his fury at this point. "I already knew all that!" he said. "You think I enjoy never being able to go home again?! That if we're caught, two bots who have fought by my side will be put down?! What do you gain from all of this, Swindle?! Why the slag did you come here to tell me stories I already know?!"

Swindle just chuckled and leaned forward. "Again, Springer, please: part of making a sale is setting the right atmosphere. If I didn't do that, you'd just hand me over to Blue Bacchus and the other crime lords, and be on your way. But you see, you won't do that, because I have the thing you want the most..."

Springer quirked an eyebrow. "And that is?"

Swindle just laughed.

"I can tell you where Flame is. The Autobot who turned me and your friends into outcasts, the one who escaped your leader on the planet Pova and made his death meaningless. Plus, if not mistaken, he's also the guy who caused you to be ejected from the Cyber-Ninja Corps for being 'derelict of duty'. He's your biggest, most wanted targe. Even if you still can't capture him and redeem yourself in front of your order, you can at least take your revenge for everything he took from you... am I right?!"

Springer stood there in silence, eying Swindle coldly; then, he turned around and closed his optics.

"No, Swindle. No deal."

Swindle frowned. "And why is that?" he asked.

"Because in the end, I'm still an Autobot! We're all still Autobots!" snapped Springer, spring back around. "And because I'm not about to let those soldiers out there lose that - the one thing they all have left!"

Swindle sighed and shook his head. "I thought you might say that..."

"And what are you going to do about it?" asked Springer, his hands on his hips.

Swindle looked up, and flashed Springer a grin. "What am I going to do? You don't get it, Springer: I've already done it. Just before I came here, I broadcasted my destination on every single planetary frequency. I also told them that you were all a bunch of Autobot fugitives. Good luck convincing them to turn down the chunk of credits you guys are worth."

Springer's eyes were wide in shock. He couldn't say anything; he just watched as Swindle stood up and walked forward, stopping just in front of the forcefield.

"So then," the former Autobot said, regaining his cheerful tone, "why don't you walk over here, let me out, so we can figure out a way to put an end to this little problem, hmmmm?"

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Three breems later, Springer had already ended his conversation with Swindle, and ordered all of the Wreckers to meet him on the ship's bridge. Once they were all gathered there, they found that Springer himself had yet to arrive.

"This is just great," Whirl muttered, as he spun his servos around in frustration. "What the slag does Springer think he's doing? We're going to be drowning in low-lives any minute now, and he's making us wait?!"

"That's insubordination, mister!" snapped the hard-edged Sandstorm, before it snapped back to the more youthful one. "Gaw'lee, Whirl! Give Springer some time! It's not like Swindle gave him an easy decision to make!"

"I say we get off this planet as fast as we can and then beat any information we can out of that traitor's mainframe," Whirl grumbled. "Or better yet, throw him to Roadbuster..."

Though everyone turned to look at the gargantuan mech, Roadbuster's only reply was silence.

At that last part, Roadbuster's servos made a jerking sound, and Ironfist instantly regretted saying it. Whirl glared at Ironfist with his single optic and moved to poke the smaller mechanoid in the chest plate. "Listen here, 'Fisty, you weren't there during the War. You didn't see what it was like when we were suffering because of what people like that miserable 'Con did! Not to mention what Sandstorm and Roadbuster went through... if you think I'm going to let that conniving little scrap-shilling piece of slag taunt us with information on how to find the monster who did that to them, maybe you don't belong after all!"

Ironfist stared at Whirl with wide, ashamed optics, while Sandstorm just looked down. As usual Roadbuster looked emotionless, as though what limited feelings he had were being suppressed by the damage done to his processor.

Or maybe he was just holding back.

Just then the doors opened, and Springer stepped through, looking both nervous and angry. The other Wreckers' optics fell on him, and Whirl stepped forward. "Well?" the cyclopean Autobot demanded.

Before Springer could answer, Swindle stepped out from behind him, now re-armed and wearing a grin as wide as Cybertron itself.

"Hey there, everybody!" the Decepticon announced as he leaned on Springer's shoulder. "It's good to be working with you all again... and I have a feeling it's going to be even more fun than last time!"

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AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Well, that wraps up another chapter. As you have probably ascertained by now, the group of heroes we're dealing with is based off of the infamous team from various Transformers comics. This chapter was mostly to introduce us to a whole new team and give some idea of their history, and how it relates to Swindle. As for the revelations about, Swindle... well, check his optics, and compare them to Wasp before he got all buggy. Compare it to certain hints from Derrick Wyatt and the almanac, and you can probably see why I went in the direction I did. ;3 How these new characters and Swindle's past relate to the wider Animated universe will be expanded upon as well.

Yes, this chapter took a long time. The editing process was more exacting this time, and I wanted to make sure I turned out a more solid work this time. I certainly hope I succeeded. Special thanks to my beta readers this time, Ryune, Infinity Blade, and DigiStarDBZ, along with Otaku and Kil/Copper Relays from the Allspark. The latter two helped me clean up my prose in a big way, with Kil especially helping me fine tune my methods of description to rely less on exposition. I think it works better significantly better this way, with the revelations coming more from characters than an omniscient editor.

So anyway, I guess that's that for now. See you guys next time, same story, same place.

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Taking a different approach to bios this time, folks. Now I'm doing them Allspark Almanac style!

Springer

"What can I say about ol' Green Horn? That was Impactor Major's nickname for him, before the old war bot got himself killed for us. Since then, he's more or less kept us together... but don't tell him I said that, alright? We butt heads a lot, but he's always got our best interests at heart, even if that Cyber-Ninja idiocy of his affects his judgment. If he'd just learn to stop walking the line, Springer and I'd get along a lot better. Don't get me wrong though... When I talk about him like this it's in comparison to a 'bot like me. Springer may be more on the straight and narrow than I am, but he knows how to get his servos dirty. Not like he could avoid it with the life we lead, but hey.

"Combat-wise, Springer's got two jump jets built into his legs that let 'im jump around around like a hyped-up petro-rabbit. He's also a swordsmech, and both of his blades are sharpened to a molecular edge. I'll give the Cyber-Ninjas one thing: they know quality! In vehicle mode, Springer's the fastest of all of us, and it almost looks like he's gliding over the ground. Of course, I happen to turn into a hovercraft, so I can actually do that instead of just looking like I can. On uneven ground, Springer's a lot clumsier than he'd like you to believe."- Whirl, Wrecker Tactical Officer

Whirl

"Whirl. Just. Whirl. I've never met a bot so confrontational. He was a hard-case even before Impactor's death, and all of these stellar cycles on the run haven't exactly helped curb those tendencies. As Master Yoketron used to say, those who experience combat often end up living for the sake of it. I can't even count the number of times he's caused trouble by looking for a fight. Nevertheless... I consider Whirl a friend. He's saved my neck more than a few times, and you don't go through that without learning to appreciate someone. At times though... it seems as though Whirl is trying to force himself to suffer, because he hasn't gone through the kinds of things the other have. Whirl's seen a lot of bots die... and worse.

"Whirl turns into a hovercraft outfitted with a propeller. That same propeller allows him to create whirlwinds from his chest. His stabilizing turbines become his hands in robot mode, which he can use to create smaller jets of wind, or he can use them as weapons while spinning them. If not for Roadbuster, I'd say Whirl was the most ruthless of all of us."- Springer, Wrecker Commander

Sandstorm

"Subject: Sandstorm. Status: Ally. Allegiance: Autobot. History: The first and only product of "Project Triplechanger", originated by former Autobot Head of Science Ministry, Flame. During the triplechanger conversion process, Subject: Sandstorm's mind fractured. Result, three separate personalities: Dutiful, belligerent persona fitting stereotypical portrayal of Boot Camp instructor; Thrill seeking, erratic, at times unreliable "daredevil"; and lastly, naive and respectful persona that acts as though it lacks intelligence and experience. All three personae are observed to contradictory and at odds with the other: example - persona referred to as "Sarge" by Comrade: Ironfist has been observed as exhibiting superior intelligence and sense of responsibility compared to counterparts. Assessment: Possible processor-block, or perhaps Subject: Sandstorm is deliberately obfuscating stupidity.

"Operational Capabilities: Primary vehicle mode - all terrain land based vehicle. Secondary vehicle mode - drill tank. Special abilities include the ability to collect minerals, break them down, and then expel them at high speeds. Also equipped with electrical emitter, allowing Subject: Sandstorm to release charges similar to lightning. The use of both abilities has been observed to be divided amongst his personalities, with only the third being capable of using both at once."- Roadbuster, Wrecker Demolitionist

Roadbuster

"Roadbuster's the kind of soldier every commander wishes he had: big, powerful, and always focused on one thing!And that's blowing things up, I tell ya, it's a real sight to see!

"Roadbuster was one of the first Autobots to be outfitted with good ol' reverse engineered technology, along with the other dang ol' Combatibots. I know right? More like Combaticons! 'Cept the results weren't so good, and the other five ended up defecting... But Roadbuster didn't! He stayed! But the council still thought he was dangerous! What's up with that?!I'm not one to criticize a superior officer, but even I think the decision to wipe his personality subroutines to be cruel and unusual!

After that, Impactor Major gave him a chance. Which was pretty awesome!He gave us all a chance... all of us cast offs freaks who simply wanted to serve! And Roadbuster... he's a lot like me when you think about it... One of the only Autobots just like me...

Enough namby-pamby talk! Roadbuster turns into an armored vehicle, equipped with ballistic weaponry, armor-piercing lasers, and enough ordinance to make the Heavy Brigade quiver in their solonoids - what's left of those palookas anyway!Basically, Roadbuster blows things up reaaal good!- Sandstorm, Wrecker Officer

Ironfist

"First of all, allow me to thank you fine people for allowing me to introduce myself. My name is Ironfist, formerly of the Autobot Science Ministry, where I apprenticed under the esteemed engineer, Wheeljack. My association with the Wreckers began long after that, however, when I was assisting with an off-world field test, near the periphery of the Autobot commonwealth. Unfortunately, we were attacked by Decepticons, who regrettably stole my work and took my fellow engineers off-line. Fortunately, I was discovered before my own spark could fade... by none other than the legendary Wreckers themselves.

"Since that fateful solar cycle, I have been indebted to them. Though I am not a soldier, they have allowed me to join them. I assist in the maintenance and upkeep of our vessel, serve as chief medic, and I also develop the tools the team uses in our various engagements. My vehicle mode is a stout little craft, but nonetheless quite powerful. I get my name from my rather large hand servos, which are also doubly reinforced. I'm nowhere near the fighter Springer is, but you'll find that I'm more than capable of defending myself!"- Ironfist, Wrecker Engineer

"Disabled people donít have special needs. We have very reasonable human needs. Our needs include freedom from abuse, violence, and mistreatment, the right to autonomy and self-direction, the right to represent ourselves, equal opportunity for education and employment, the right to accommodation, and societal inclusion and acceptance.

The need for accommodation isnít a ďspecial needĒ. Itís a basic human right. Itís a leveling of the playing field that allows us the same opportunities and chances as non-disabled people."

I appreciate the thanks, and must reciprocate: again you've submitted a pretty professional looking piece of prose. Having seen the previous draft I worked on, it amazes me how much you improved it, and it was already a great read. I think I need Kil to tutor me: you really brought your work up to the next level. Transformers are optimally designed for a very visual medium. When writing about them it is so easy to get bogged down in descriptive text, because if you don't your audience has to assume. That isn't a problem with this chapter. You read, and when you get descriptions it just feels right. Any gray areas of uncertainty are covered by the profiles at the end.

I just read through all of this thread, and I am incredibly impressed. Possibly the most well-written TF fanfic I have ever read, and the new characters that you introduce just put the icing on the cake. Kudos to you, good sir.

... Everything that isn't Pros and Cons is on hold. I need to figure some stuff out.

"Disabled people donít have special needs. We have very reasonable human needs. Our needs include freedom from abuse, violence, and mistreatment, the right to autonomy and self-direction, the right to represent ourselves, equal opportunity for education and employment, the right to accommodation, and societal inclusion and acceptance.

The need for accommodation isnít a ďspecial needĒ. Itís a basic human right. Itís a leveling of the playing field that allows us the same opportunities and chances as non-disabled people."

Take as much time as you need, you strove to do quality work and it merits a careful decision as to how to proceed. I can see most options working out, frankly, as long as you continue to produce such strong pieces.

A lot of my ideas have ended up overlapping with the new Botcon material, which sort of created an issue similar to the almanac. I've been unsure of how to progress, and really...

... what do you guys think I should do? Scrap everything and start over with the new stuff that's come out, or continue on? I'm not really sure anymore...

"Disabled people donít have special needs. We have very reasonable human needs. Our needs include freedom from abuse, violence, and mistreatment, the right to autonomy and self-direction, the right to represent ourselves, equal opportunity for education and employment, the right to accommodation, and societal inclusion and acceptance.

The need for accommodation isnít a ďspecial needĒ. Itís a basic human right. Itís a leveling of the playing field that allows us the same opportunities and chances as non-disabled people."

I believe the least appealing is to continue it and trying to ignore what has been added in at least a semi-official capacity to Animated canon. This will make it harder to read in the long run and possibly harder to write since you are aware of the material; personally I'd constantly be fighting to write the correct version of the character in. Still, I have confidence you can do it.

Perhaps the easiest option would be to scrap it all and start over. It is a question of whether this is easier or harder for you than the others, and of course if it will still be as good a story.

I favor salvaging what you can, but doing an extensive rewrite to align things. Possibly, if you really want to keep a story as is, just separate it from continuity. We are all Transformers fans here, and can understand such a notion. I myself am having a hard time completely dropping the ideas I personally had for the Animated Stunticons, and if I ever stop shirking my writing duties I might eventually include a one-off tale of how I would have done the Animated Stunticons. I have sadly not been able to read the Almanacs and I definitely wasn't able to go to BotCon so if the "damage" is worse than I realized, this might not be an option. From what has trickled down to me, the big reveal of the Stunticons would probably just not work. The thing is, there are several "substitutes" you could include instead. Perhaps Zarak is the source of "Protectobots" in the Animated Universe you are creating?

...

Yeah, didn't think so, but I am sure you can come up with a idea for a similar fix.

"Disabled people donít have special needs. We have very reasonable human needs. Our needs include freedom from abuse, violence, and mistreatment, the right to autonomy and self-direction, the right to represent ourselves, equal opportunity for education and employment, the right to accommodation, and societal inclusion and acceptance.

The need for accommodation isnít a ďspecial needĒ. Itís a basic human right. Itís a leveling of the playing field that allows us the same opportunities and chances as non-disabled people."

My view of the animated universe has changed. It's been influenced a bit too much by this stuff; I still want to write my own post season 3 story and I still want it to be different, but... well. Things aren't quite the same, and I feel that I'm a better writer now than when I wrote Return to Cybertron. Parts of it seem overwrought, and I could tell that story better now than I could then.

As for the Stunticons... that's still a story I want to tell, but it feels wrong doing it with characters that no longer feel like the Stunticons to me. I tried maybe redoing them with different names, but... they just didn't sell to me.

I've been too influenced by the new stuff. Mind you, I still want to finish Pros and Cons, and very little about that's set to change, but...

...

I guess what I'm asking is, if I reset my storytelling universe, (kept Pros and Cons), and rebooted the whole thing with a retelling of "Return to Cybertron" and carried on differently, would you guys still be interested? ._.

"Disabled people donít have special needs. We have very reasonable human needs. Our needs include freedom from abuse, violence, and mistreatment, the right to autonomy and self-direction, the right to represent ourselves, equal opportunity for education and employment, the right to accommodation, and societal inclusion and acceptance.

The need for accommodation isnít a ďspecial needĒ. Itís a basic human right. Itís a leveling of the playing field that allows us the same opportunities and chances as non-disabled people."

Very much so! You had such awesome work, I can't -wait- to see mor eo fit and what you develop in time! Your writing is someof the best Transformers fan fiction I've seen, and ranks right up there with SkyShadow and Dave Dan Dameleon's stuff, but is just so much more approachable than their's is, with all of the amazing little in jokes and references.

In other words, if your work is up at their level already, I can't WAIT to see what you've done if you think you've considerably improved it!

And as for reset? I honestly don't know. Whatever you feel is best, honestly. Depending on what direction you feel like going in, whether you watn to start things from scratch or try and develop it alternatively.

Not being much of a writer myself, I can't offer much feedback over on that. Your story is wonderful what you have so far, I would hate to see you lose it.. But you're wanting to stay true to the evolving nature of the continuity as much as anything else.

Or, alternatively, there's always the 'make a story out of it'.

Can handwave the Cybertron events into continuity, have the core cast be unaware of them, and just have the strange bit of there being two subteams wtih the same name/concept, and then at some point have them meet a la Royal Rumble to determine the true 'Kings of the Roads'. And have the losers be smashed down under treaded wheels and having to come up wtih a new gimmick (Those that survive). Or could take it as a cue to introduce animated 'Menasor' or wahtever their concept of a true heavy combiner would be.

So, you can either do a total or majority reset and plot out things and characters, and wait for the last of the Animated things to peter out and then make sure you can incoporate them into your setting if you prefer to be as true to canon as you can that exists. Next is to just do a few fixes and handwave things over and patch htem in as necessary, maybe fix with creativity ro a story smoothing things over - not like comics haven't done that plenty of times or other sorts of media. There's plenty of 'fixfics' out there for such things.

I guess what I'm asking is, if I reset my storytelling universe, (kept Pros and Cons), and rebooted the whole thing with a retelling of "Return to Cybertron" and carried on differently, would you guys still be interested? ._.